Cow sucking preventer



L. F. MOTT 2,187,461

COW SUCKING PREVENTER Filed April 21, 1938 101L116 I? Mofi Patented Jan. 16, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

3 This invention relates to an improved attachment for cows or other female animals, of the domestic type, to prevent the animal from sucking or milking itself.-

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved attachment which may readily be attached to the head of a female animal, and which may be worn without discomfort and without preventing the animal from feeding freely, but which will efiiciently function to prevent the animal from sucking or milking itself.

More particularly it is an object of this invention to provide a device of the aforementioned character having members adapted to be disposed on opposite sidesof an animals head and to be connected to the head harness, to support guard plates in position on opposite sides of the animals mouth in such a manner that the animal may feed freely and will be caused no suffering or irritation from wearing the device, yet which is so arranged that should the animal attempt to milk or suck itself one or the other of the guard plates willbe forced againstthe side of the mouth to discourage and prevent the practice.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing which of the head of an animal.

illustrates a preferred form of the invention, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation-a1 view showing the head of an animal in dotted lines, having the invention applied thereto,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the lower portion of the two members forming the invention showviews, In designates generally one of the supporting members adapted to be disposed on one side Members l comprise the upper and lower sectionsll and I2, respectively, which are hinged at 13. A member Hlis adapted to be positioned on each side of the head of an animal and to be held in position by the.

nose band 114, curb chain l5, brow strap 16,

throatlatch l1 and neck strap or collar 18, all of which are connected to the loops l9.

The head of an animal is shown in dotted lines in Figure l at 2| to illustrate the application of the invention. It will be seen from this figure, that the upper parts of the sections l2 are arouately shaped to curve away from the animals eyes so as not to interfere with its vision.

Slidably and adjustably connected to the lower ends of the sections [2 by means of the rivets 22 and the nut and bolt fastenings 23, are the slotted members 24 through which rivets 22 and fastenings 23, which are connected to members 12, extend, to connect the members 24 to the lower ends of sections l2. Rivets 22 and fastenings 23 engage the slots 24 in portions 24 to permit lengthwise adjustment of said portions, and the fastenings 23 may be tightened to clamp the portions in adjusted position. Fastenings 23 may be mounted in slots 24 in sections 12 to permit them to move relatively thereto for additional adjustment of the portions 24. Portions 24 have pins or bolts 26 disposed at right anglesto their lower ends, and on which the guard plates or shields 21 are hinged as indicated at 28.

The guard plates or shields 21 are mounted to be positioned on opposite sides of the animals mouth, as best seen in Figure 1, and are held slightly away from the mouth by means of the coil springs 29 connected to ears 30 and 3| on the outer sides of the shields 21 and portions 24, respectively.

From the foregoing it will be obvious, that when the invention is attached to the head of a female animal as heretofore explained, the shields or guards 21 will be disposed on opposite sides of its mouth and out of engagement therewith by means of the springs 29 so that the animal may graze, or feed in a stanchion without being affected thereby. The members In are constructed to be readily supported by a conventional head harness in such a manner that they will not irritate or bother theanimal. By means of the portions 24 to which the shields 21 are hinged, the latter may be readily lengthened or shortened so that they will not overlie the end of the animals mouth to prevent normal feeding, while at the same time being in a position where they will effectively prevent the animal from sucking itself. Should the animal attempt to turn its head around into a position to milk itself, one or the other of the shields 21 will be brought into contact with the milk bag and will be pressed inwardly thereby into engagement with the animals mouth to prevent it from accomplishing its purpose, and will be held in this position until the pressure against thebag' is released at which time the spring 2s will draw it outwardly and away from the animals mouth, thereby preventing they practice.

The relative sizes of the parts may obviously be varied depending upon the animal with which it is to be used, and other variations in the construction and shape of the parts, particularly in the shape of the shields 21, may obviously be made and are contemplated without departing from the spirit of the invention and the right is therefore reserved to make such variations and changes as fallwithin the scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: p

1. In a device of the class described, corresponding supporting members formed of pivotally connected sections and adapted to be connected to the head harness of an animal to be supported thereby at opposite sides of the animals head,

- guards pivotally connected to corresponding ends retain the members in position, guard members hinged to the lower ends of said members and adapted to be disposed at opposite sides of the animals mouth, and spring means connected to said guards to urge them away from the mouth,

said guards being normally held at an acute angle to the sides of the mouth to permit the animal to feed freely while preventing it from turning its head into a position to milk itself.

3. In an anti-milking and anti-sucking attachment for animals, supporting members adapted to be positioned on opposite sides of an animals head and to be connected to its head harness to retain the members in position thereon, said members including portions slidably mounted at their lower ends, guards pivotally connected to the free ends of said portions and disposed on opposite sides of the animals mouth, and contractile spring meansnormally retaining said guards out of engagement with the mouth to permit the animal to feed.

4. An anti-milking attachment for animals comprising a head harness, side shields, supporting members slidably engaging said head harness and pivotally connected to said shields for adjustably positioning them relatively to the mouth of an animal, and spring means connected to said shields for normally maintaining them in outwardly diverging relationship relatively to each other.

5. A device of the class described comprising side shields, supporting members pivotally mounting said shields, a head harness for supporting and slidably mounting said supporting members whereby they may be adjustably positioned relatively to the head harness for adjustably positioning the shields relatively to the mouth of an animal, and means for yieldably disposing said shields in outwardly diverging relationship relatively to each other.

LOUIS FORREST MOTT. 

